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Biographical Sketch

Michael Rocco, MD, is the Medical Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Stress Testing, Section of Preventive Cardiology, and a Staff Cardiologist, Section of Clinical Cardiology and Preventive Cardiology, in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine. He also holds an appointment in the Section of Nuclear Cardiology in the Department of Molecular and Functional Imaging. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiology and nuclear cardiology. Dr. Rocco has a special interest in clinical cardiology, stress testing and cardiac rehabilitation, coronary artery disease, cardiac catheterization and the treatment of lipid disorders.

Dr. Rocco did his undergraduate work at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., graduating Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian of his class. He received his medical degree from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He took his clinical training (internship and residency) at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. He became a Research/Clinical Fellow in Cardiology at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rocco completed the Henry J. Kaiser Fellowship Program at Harvard University, Boston, where he trained in epidemiology, biostatistics and clinical study design.

Since 1988, Dr. Rocco has been an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He has had several prior academic appointments: as a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School; as a Clinical Associate at Simmons College, Department of Nursing, in Boston; as Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School; and as Consultant for the Framingham Heart Study.

Prior to his 2002 appointment to Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Rocco was the Director of Stress Testing and Cardiac Rehabilitation for University Hospitals in Cleveland. He also served in that position for Mount Sinai Medical Center where he held a simultaneous appointment as Director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program.

His clinical research has focused primarily on the prognostic significance of asymptomatic ischemia, the evaluation of therapeutic interventions and exercise in the treatment and prevention of coronary artery disease, and the effect of drug therapy on lowering lipid levels.

Dr. Rocco is published in leading peer-reviewed journals on topics related to his clinical experience and research work. He has authored or co-authored several chapters in medical textbooks on his specialty interests, including screening for asymptomatic coronary artery disease, hyperlipidemia management and a chapter on circadian rhythms and ischemic heart disease, among others.

Dr. Rocco is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the American College of Physicians. He serves on the Council of Clinical Cardiology of the American Heart Association.

Specialty in Diseases and Conditions

Industry Relationships

Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists may collaborate with the pharmaceutical or medical device industries to help develop medical breakthroughs or provide medical expertise or education. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit. In order for the discoveries of Cleveland Clinic physicians' and scientists' laboratories and investigations to benefit the public, these discoveries must be commercialized in partnership with industry. As experts in their fields, Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists are often sought after by industry to consult, provide expertise and education.

To assure professional and commercial integrity in such matters, Cleveland Clinic maintains a program that reviews these collaborations and, when appropriate, puts measures in place to minimize bias that may result from ties to industry. The Cleveland Clinic publicly discloses the names of companies when (i) its physicians/scientists receive $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) for speaking and consulting, (ii) its physicians/scientists serve as a fiduciary, (iii) its physicians/scientists receive or have the right to receive royalties or (iv) its physicians/ scientists hold any equity interest for the physician's/scientist's role as inventor, discoverer, developer, founder or consultant.* In publicly disclosing this information, the Cleveland Clinic tries to provide information as accurately as possible about its physicians' and scientists' connections with industry.

As of 5/26/2014, Dr. Rocco has reported the financial relationships with the companies listed below. In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by the Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about the Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.

Consulting and/or Speaking. Dr. Rocco receives fees of $5,000 or more per year as a paid consultant, speaker or member of an advisory committee for the following companies:

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers’ discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.

* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.